key terms

• triangulation:

  the use of multiple research methods which increases the validity of research.
• causation:

  being able to determine a cause and effect relationship.
• case study:

  a piece of small scale research that focuses on a single person/small group.
• pilot study:

  a small scale trial of research that is done before the real research. This is done to test the research and to see where adjustments need to be made.
• correlation:

  a measure of a relationship/association between two things.
• validity:

  a measure of the truth.
• reliability:

  a measure of consistency.
• quantitative data:

  data collected in numerical form.
• qualitative data:

  data collected in written form (words).
• hypothesis:

  a testable statement. An informed guess written as a statement which is then supported by evidence or proven wrong.
• Hawthorne effect:

  when a person changes their behaviour because they know they are being watched.
• social desirability:

  Changing a response/behaviour to look more socially acceptable.
• primary methods:

  collected by the researcher for the purpose of their research.
• secondary methods:

  collected by someone else but used by the researcher in their research.
• sampling frame:

  a list of all the people in the target population from which a sample is taken out of.
• research population:

  who the researcher wants to apply their findings to (like the target population in psych).
• representativeness:

  if the people in the research represent the wider population.
• generalisability:

  If findings can be applied to the wider population/settings outside of the research.
• demand characteristics:

  when people change their behaviour to either help or hinder the researchers (please-u; screw-u).
• research question:

  sets out what the researcher is going to investigate and presents a clear focus.
• operationalising:

  to make something specific. Sociological concepts need to be made objective so they can be measured. For something to be reliable the research needs to be objective.